Performance evaluation of several well-known and new scintillators for MeV X-ray imaging

Digital X-ray imaging systems for MeV range photon beams are based on a combination of a scintillator screen and either a camera or an amorphous silicon array. To limit dose rate on electronics and enhance imaging device lifetime, the scintillator screen is mirror-coupled to the camera. Performances of such devices are a compromise between exposure time and spatial resolution. These technical characteristics are especially scintillator dependent. In this paper, we present a performance evaluation of six different scintillators with a 9 MeV Bremsstrahlung X-ray source. The tested scintillators are composed of one micro-structured CsI(Tl) scintillator, two phosphor (GOS) screens and three transparent scintillators. These scintillators present a wide range of density, thickness and conversion efficiency. Each scintillator's performance is assessed based on the combination of light output (ADU number) and modulation transfer function (spatial resolution) obtained. The results are helpful to guide design and engineering of high energy imaging devices adapted to specific requirements.